CDs in Hand, In My Life Team Takes to the Streets

Anyone passing through the Theatre District in the last few weeks has probably seen the In My Life army, a group of clean-cut young men and women in show t-shirts handing out CD samplers for the new Broadway musical. In fact, the tribe seems omnipresent anytime curtains are coming up or down, making this the largest-ever effort of its kind.

"We felt that getting the music heard was an essential part of our launch," In My Life writer/director/producer Joe Brooks, who came up with the idea, tells Broadway.com. "It was our belief that the music was highly memorable and that it would draw people to the show."

Putting It Out There
Although large corporations typically launch new products with sample giveaways in densely populated areas, it is rare for a Broadway show to hand out anything beyond flyers. CD samplers, a much more expensive item, are usually reserved for limited direct mail campaigns. But Brooks, a Broadway newcomer, believed his music was the best way to sell In My Life.

Brooks' idea came to the fruition with the help of marketing group Hugh Hysell Communications HHC and the support of the show's producer, a deep-pocketed Wall Street mogul. A total of 200,000 CD samplers were printed for distribution in the campaign. On one side is the show's artwork a young couple embracing amidst a field of floating lemons and on the flipside: "It's sure to be love at first listen! Listen to the best music you've heard in your life." Below that, an incorrect start of performance date is listed September 27 rather than the correct September 30 as well as ticketing info. The four songs on the actual CD—two of which are full-fledged ballads and two that could be classified as soft pop—are sung by non-credited performers Megan McGinnis, Jason Wooten, Christine Clemmons and Lili Thomas who are not in the actual show.

Finding the Right Team
Once they had the CD samplers in hand, HHC knew they had to find the right street team for distribution. "The thought was women usually buy tickets and the audience we need is between 35 and 55," Hysell explains. "So the impulse was to find very attractive men so women passing would be more apt to take something. We had to find the people that would open the doors, so to say."

Models first appeared on the streets with the CDs, but the campaign was temporarily shut down after a couple of days following the determination that the models "didn't have the personality" needed to promote the show. The next move was enlisting Dave Clemmons Casting who also cast the musical, who hired actors for a retooled campaign, which got on its feet a week later. "We went with actors who are very attractive, but also have very attractive personalities," explains Hysell. "We also wanted to have people above the crowd, so we cast people that were generally on the tall side." To add a uniform look to the campaign, every person on the team wears a t-shirt provided by the production, khaki shorts or pants and white sneakers.

The In My Life Way
HHC has approximately 35 people in its street team pool and each night sends 20 of them out to spread the In My Life word. Their beat is divided into three areas, all supervised by a team captain paid a healthy $18 per hour. "We hit practically every musical on Broadway, except for family shows like The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," Hysell says. "We either hit them when they are going into the show or as they come out. It's all very choreographed."

Brooks himself trained the street team to make sure they had a unified message. "I wanted them to present the show properly," Brooks expresses. "Just as our cast and design team represent the show, I wanted the people handing these out to feel they were a part of the show as well."

"Joe Brooks really wanted us to sell that it is totally original and remind people that he is the creator of 'You Light Up My Life,'" street team member Vance Stringer recounts of the session. "He wanted us to stress that it was a love story first and foremost. The main character actually has Tourettes, but we don't really say that because then people think it is going to be a comedy, something you will not really be able to take seriously. We just have to kind of emphasize that this is a love story about people who are struggling. Their lives are kind of lemons—lemons are a recurring theme—but they come together through a twist of fate. That is what we say."

Getting the Job Done
Five to nine thousand samplers are typically given out per day. Many individuals walk past the In My Life distributors, but tons of people take the CD. "People are more receptive coming out of the theater," another team member, Adam Perry, states. "They come out and they are all happy and they want to see another show. So you offer them a sampler of a new musical and they want it."

Team members questioned say the reception to the music on the CD has been predominantly positive, although one admitted to a tourist from Tulsa recently approaching him solely to say the tunes were "drivel." Undaunted by such criticism, Brooks still believes his music is the way to promote his quirky tuner. "It has been very successful," the man behind the plan says. "We have been selling seats."

Unquestionably, In My Life is starting previews with a good amount of name recognition on the streets of the city thanks to the campaign. If box office proves strong during the show's early weeks, the CD sampler will be awarded much of the credit. "There is a high cost involved," Hysell declares. "But there is an advertising cost on every show. If this is ultimately successful, every show will do it. And it all came from Joe."